Expandable Waterproof Flood Protection Container with Buoyant Rim

ABSTRACT

An expandable waterproof flood protection container. The flood protection container consists of flexible and waterproof sidewalls attached to a buoyant rim. The flood protection container is sized to accommodate boxes and consumer goods, which can be placed inside the flood protection container. If the storage area where the items in the flood protection container floods, the buoyant rim will rise with the rising water, which will draw up the waterproof sidewalls to protect the contents from the water.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

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INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a waterproof container which will enclose and protect items from flooding. More specifically the invention relates to an expandable waterproof container with a buoyant top rim into which items like boxes or electrical equipment may be placed. The buoyant top rim will float in the event of flooding and stay atop of the rising waters thus pulling the waterproof enclosure up above water levels to protect the items within.

Description of the Related Art

There are a number of devices that protect smaller items from flood damage, but they generally require human action prior to the potential threat of flooding to cover the items should the water rise. For example U.S. Pat. No. 2,300,408, to Deerwester, discloses a covering for machinery that consists of a waterproof box that sits over the machinery. There is a waterproof seal around the base of the box. The box has to be placed over the machinery when flooding is likely. U.S. Pat. No. 3,892,910, to Smith, discloses a flood covering for communications equipment. This device consists of a waterproof bell jar, or air tight tubing, that is attached near the base of the communications equipment. The bottom of the bell jar is opened, but the air pressure inside keeps the water from rising into the bell jar, thus protecting the equipment. U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,512, to Page, discloses an inflatable waterproof storage container. This is essentially a large airtight bag that can be placed over an item and inflated. Since the bag is airtight it is also waterproof, and can therefore protect the items within the bag. This device does not allow easy assess to the stored items, and must be properly sealed and inflated before the possibility of flooding. U.S. Patent Application publication No. US 2011/0129170, to Campbell, discloses a waterproof bag that consists of a bag with a top seal. The items to be protected are placed in the bag and the bag is sealed.

In all of the noted prior art, the items to be protected are placed in the waterproof container and the container is sealed. This means that the items are protected from flooding, but are not accessible during normal day to day activities. Many individuals, and households, store items in their basement, and while they do not live in a flood prone area there are still risks of water rising in the basement from such things as burst water pipes. In these situations there is little need for the type of waterproof containers described in the above cited prior art, but there is a need for a device that protects items from flooding, but leaves the items open and accessible for use, but then protects them when waters rise.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention consists of a waterproof container with a top rim made of buoyant or floatable material. The container has flexible sidewalls so that it is collapsible so that it sits on the ground or other flat surface and has a low profile. The items to be protected from flooding are placed onto the bottom of the container, with the folded side walls and buoyant rim around the items. The low profile allows the items to be easily and readily assessable for normal every day use, but when water begins to rise in the area the buoyant rim floats on the water and rises on the surface of the water. This pulls up the waterproof side walls, which protects the items within the waterproof container from the water.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the flood protection container fully open with the sidewalls extended.

FIG. 2 is a front elevation view of the flood protection container.

FIG. 3 is top plan view of the flood protection container.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the flood protection container with the sides folded down.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the flood protection container with the sides folded down and with an item within the container.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the flood protection container with the sides raised to protect the contents from water.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein. It is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, and that there may be a variety of other alternate embodiments. The figures are not necessarily to scale, and some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specified structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for teaching one skilled in the art to employ the varying embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, and FIG. 2 is a side view, and both show the flood protection container 10 with the walls extended. The flood protection container 10 consists of a bottom 80, a left side wall 20, a right side wall 30, a front wall 40 and a back wall 50. The bottom 80, left side wall 20, right side wall 30, front wall 40 and a back wall 50 are made of a water proof material such as plastic, polyethylene, or other suitable material. The material must be waterproof but also highly flexible so that the flood protection container 10 can easily be folded down to allow for the easy access to the items I stored within the container 10. In the preferred embodiment the material is high density polyethylene. There are a wide variety of thin plastic sheeting materials that can potentially be used to make the flood protection container. In the preferred embodiment the material is 2.4 Mil thick, but the actual thickness of the bag can vary. If it is too thin it is susceptible to puncture or ripping, but if it is too thick it will not be flexible enough the properly compress.

The bottom 80 is attached to the left side wall 20, the right side wall 30, the front wall 40 and the back wall 50, and the associated walls are attached to each other to form a watertight container with an open top 70. The open top 70 is best seen in the top view of FIG. 3. In the preferred embodiment the bottom and walls are made from a single piece of material. The construction of such plastic containers is well known in the art. The left side wall 20 has a left top edge 26, the right side wall 30 has a right top edge 36, the front wall 40 has a front top edge 46, and the back wall 50 has a back top edge 56. There is a buoyant rim 60 attached at the open top 70 of the container 10, with the buoyant rim 60 attached to the left top edge 26, the right top edge 36, the front top edge 46 and the back to edge 56.

The buoyant rim 60 is made from a light and buoyant material. In the preferred embodiment the buoyant rim 60 is made from expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam. EPS foam is light, durable, and moldable. There are a wide variety of other plastic foam materials that have good buoyant property, such as polyurethane, polyethylene, Styrofoam®, and the like that are permeated with small air filed closed cells that make the material lighter than water. In one configuration the buoyant rim is a length of EPS foam that is as long as the left top edge 26, the right top edge 36, the front top edge 46 and the back to edge 56. In the preferred embodiment the buoyant rim 60 is made from a tube of EPS material that is 2 inches in diameter.

The buoyant rim 60 can be attached in a number of ways. For example in one embodiment the buoyant rim 60 is attached to the left top edge 26, the right top edge 36, the front top edge 46 and the back to edge 56 by means of gluing. In another embodiment the left top edge 26, the right top edge 36, the front top edge 46 and the back to edge 56 can be folded over the buoyant rim 60 and glued into place. In the preferred embodiment there is a slit down the centerline of the buoyant rim 60, and the left top edge 26, the right top edge 36, the front top edge 46 and the back to edge 56 are inserted into the slit and glued into place. The buoyant rim 60 can be a variety of different sizes, but needs to be large enough so that it can lift the sides of the container when the water rises but small enough so that it does not block the open top 70 of the container 10 to limit access to the container 10.

In use the flood protection container 10 is set on a flat surface, such as a floor or shelving, as depicted in FIG. 4. The bottom 80 is placed flat on the surface and the sidewalls 20, 30, 40, and 50, fold or compress such that the buoyant rim 60 is placed nearly on the flat surface, and only raised above the flat surface by the thickness of the material of the sidewalls 20, 30, 40, and 50. This means that the flood protection container has a vertical profile off the ground or flat surface that is roughly only slightly higher than the width or thickness of the buoyant rim 60. In most cases this will be two or three inches. This allows the items I to be easily placed into the flood protection container 10 as shown in FIG. 5.

The flood protection container is sized to accommodate standard file or storage boxes, with a width of the sidewalls 20, 30, 40, and 50 roughly between two and three feet wide. This is small enough so that the flood protection container is easily portable, but large enough to protect standard consumer possessions like computers or televisions, or items stored in a box. The low profile of the sidewalls and buoyant rim allows easy access to the stored items I during normal use. This means that the flood protection container 10 can be placed around many items, and the items I can be easily accessible for normal use, but if water W were to rise due to flooding in the area, as depicted in FIG. 6, the buoyant rim 60 would float on the rising water W, and as if floats it would rise with the rising water, and since the buoyant rim 60 is attached to the sidewalls 20, 30, 40, and 50, the waterproof sidewalls would be pulled up by the buoyant rim 60, and would therefore protect the items I stored within the flood protection container 10. The open top 70 has the further advantage of staying open in the event of flooding, which would allow a person to easily access, and retrieve, the items I in the event of flooding.

The present invention is well adapted to carry out the objectives and attain both the ends and the advantages mentioned, as well as other benefits inherent therein. While the present invention has been depicted, described, and is defined by reference to particular embodiments of the invention, such reference does not imply a limitation to the invention, and no such limitation is to be inferred. The depicted and described embodiments of the invention are exemplary only, and are not exhaustive of the scope of the invention. Consequently, the present invention is intended to be limited only be the spirit and scope of the claims, giving full cognizance to equivalents in all respects. 

I claim:
 1. A flood protection device comprising: a waterproof container having flexible sidewalls; each of said flexible sidewalls having a top edge, wherein said top edges create an open top; a buoyant rim attached to said top edges; wherein the buoyant rim will rise if water rises around the waterproof container thereby drawing up said flexible sidewalls to protect contents of the waterproof container from the water.
 2. The flood protection device of claim 1 wherein: said sidewalls are made of flexible material wherein when said waterproof container is set on a flat surface the buoyant rim is nearly placed upon the surface, thereby allowing easy access to the contains of the container.
 3. The flood protection device of claim 2, wherein said waterproof container is sized to protect boxes and small consumer electronic devices.
 4. The flood protection device of claim 3, wherein said sidewalls have a width of between two and three feet and a height of between four and five feet.
 5. The flood protection device of claim 2 wherein said flexible material is high density polyethylene.
 6. The flood protection device of claim 2 wherein said buoyant rim is made from a light, durable, and buoyant material.
 7. The flood protection device of claim 6 wherein said buoyant rim is made from expanded polystyrene foam.
 11. A method of protecting consumer items from flooding, said method comprising the steps of: providing a waterproof container having flexible sidewalls, wherein each of said flexible sidewalls having a top edge, wherein said top edges create an open top; disposing a buoyant rim on said top edges; placing said waterproof container on a flat surface; setting items to be protected inside said waterproof container; waiting for water to rise in area where said waterproof container is placed; wherein the buoyant rim will rise if water rises around the waterproof container thereby drawing up said flexible sidewalls to protect contents of the waterproof container from the water. 